Where the Heart Is
by Crittab
Summary: Future fic: Jeff plans a huge surprise for Annie before their baby is born, and he enlists the help of the group to make it happen. Complete.


**Disclaimer:** I don't own Community, yo

**Where the Heart Is**

Jeff pulled into the only free space in the overcrowded airport parking lot, just barely fitting between the two cars on either side of his Lexus.

"Can you get out?" he asked. Annie looked out her window and frowned.

"Probably not. I'm a cow."

"You're not a cow," he reassured her, backing out of the space so she could get out before he re-parked. She offered a small, thankful smile before pulling her very pregnant body out of the vehicle and waiting for him to park and turn off the car. When he had finally done so, he squeezed himself out of his side, just barely making it without banging the Prius next to him. He met Annie at the trunk and opened it, pulling out her two large bags.

"You're going away for three days. Why do you need every piece of clothing you own?" Annie tried to take one of the bags from him, but Jeff pulled it away. She settled for closing the trunk and followed him as he started toward the building.

"It's not every piece of clothing I own, just the maternity stuff. And it's good to be prepared."

"Prepared for what, exactly? Every conceivable form of weather?"

"I've never been to Arizona, Jeff. I don't know what the weather's like!" she protested as they reached the building. Jeff held the door for her whilst juggling both of her bags in one hand.

"Well, Annie. It's hot." She rolled her eyes.

"Whatever. If you wanted to have an opinion about what I packed, you could have helped me do so last night," she snapped at Jeff. It was mid-summer and the heat, while not sweltering, had been wreaking havoc with his seven month pregnant wife's mood. It almost made him glad that he couldn't go even further south with her on this particular little adventure.

"If I recall correctly, I did try to help you, but you made me leave the room when I used the wrong folding technique." Annie's face reddened a little bit at the memory. She gave him an apologetic look.

"I guess I have been a little testy lately. In my defence, I've been over-heated for three months and I sweat like a pig."

"Careful, much more of that sexy talk and you'll miss your flight," Jeff teased with a wag of his eyebrows. Annie laughed out loud, feeling lighter now that she was in an air conditioned space. Jeff leaned down and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek before heading up to the ticketing counter to check her bags and pick up her boarding pass.

Annie hung back, watching as Jeff continued to take care of every aspect of her life. Much to everyone's surprise, he'd been a good boyfriend, and an even better husband; but nothing he'd done in the past three years of their marriage could match how wonderful he'd been ever since they found out they were going to be parents. It was like a switch was flicked and suddenly he was a family man. He'd even briefly mentioned moving out of their small two bedroom apartment and into a proper house.

She smiled at that thought. A house would be nice. That's the way she'd always imagined this, anyway, though she would have preferred to have the house _before_ she had the kid. She'd thought about bringing it up with Jeff a few months ago, but he'd been putting in overtime at his law firm so he could take a few weeks off when their daughter was born; she didn't want to put any more undue pressure on him.

She let herself feel sad for a moment about the fact that Jeff wasn't coming on this trip with her. Several weeks earlier her elderly Aunt Helga had called from Arizona and asked Annie to come visit, as Helga was infirm and unable to travel. Annie had considered waiting on the request, but as the point neared in her pregnancy when she wouldn't be able to fly, she opted to do it sooner rather than later. That, and the thought of taking a newborn on a plane freaked her out.

But Jeff couldn't come. He'd been apologetic, but he was working on a huge case and couldn't tear himself away, even just for a few days. Annie tried to be okay with the idea of travelling alone in her condition, but couldn't help the bits of nerves that rose up in her stomach when Jeff returned, boarding pass in hand.

"Here you go. You're all set, Milady." Annie smiled at the term of endearment that hadn't fallen by the wayside in the nine years that they'd known each other. In a swell of affection, she surged forward and pulled him in – as close as she could with a protruding belly – for a hug. Jeff smiled and wrapped his arms around his wife, letting her rest her head on his chest.

"I wish you could come," she mumbled against the cotton of his shirt.

"I know, babe. I wish I could too." He pulled away just enough so that he could see her face. "But you're going to have an awesome time playing babysitter to your elderly, incontinent aunt. Don't let my absence stop you from basking in the joy of that experience." She rolled her eyes and smacked him lightly on the chest. Moment ruined.

"I should get to security." Jeff leaned down and pressed a soft kiss against her lips, before placing his hand on the small of her back and leading them through the bustling airport.

By the time Jeff had seen Annie off and returned to his car, he was already late for his next meeting. When he finally returned back to his apartment, Troy, Abed, Pierce, Britta and Shirley were already waiting outside, looking less than enthusiastic about their plans for the day.

"You're late," Britta greeted him.

"I know, sorry," Jeff apologized, moving through the crowd so he could let them into the building. Once they had all successfully arrived in the apartment, he went to the storage closet and began to pull out bundles of collapsed boxes, packing tape, sharpies and piles of old newspapers, planting them in the middle of the living room.

"Alright, here's the game plan: wrap things that are breakable in paper, keep like-items together, and clearly label _everything_. We need to be as efficient as we can be if this place is going to be ready when Annie gets home in..." he checked his watch, "74 hours and 27 minutes." Five sets of blank stares met his gaze.

"Alright?" he prompted. Abed raised his hand slowly. "Yes, Abed?"

"Should we keep the DVD's alphabetized?" Jeff gave him a look of confusion.

"What?"

"Annie likes the DVD's alphabetized. If we keep them in the same order when we pack them, it will help us organize when we unpack them, thus saving time." Jeff nodded slowly.

"Then yes, alphabetize. And since you brought it up, keep everything in the same order that you see it. Books, dvd's, magazines..." Britta scowled.

"Thanks a lot, Abed." The younger man just shrugged and grabbed one box, heading for the entertainment centre, as predicted.

It took them three hours to empty Jeff and Annie's apartment and to fill the moving truck with all of their worldly possessions. Jeff manned the giant truck while the rest of the study group piled into Shirley's minivan and followed him into one place he never thought he'd go: the suburbs.

Pulling into the driveway, it was the first time anyone other than Jeff had seen the small home. Shirley squealed as she raced out of her minivan and immediately enveloped Jeff in a hug.

"Oh, Jeffrey!" she exclaimed. "It's perfect. Annie's going to love it!" Jeff slung an arm around his friend as the rest of the gang sidled up to them.

"I've got to admit, this is a lot better than what I was expecting," said Britta, who had been the only person to find fault with his idea to surprise Annie with a house ("_Great, so you want me to help you set the feminist movement back 80 years? Where do I sign up?")_. However, despite her best efforts to hide it, her face gave her away the moment she saw the house: she was genuinely impressed. They all were. Jeff had a feeling that if they each could have thumbnailed a prototype of Annie's dream home, it probably would have turned out much like this one. He grinned at the group, feeling a swell of pride at a job well done.

"Alright, let's get this stuff inside. Just don't put anything in the nursery. I still need to paint it."

The rest of the day went by as expected, with friendly banter that turned into meaningless fights, followed by group hugs to make up for hurt feelings. In short, it was exactly like every one of their other get-togethers, only sweatier. By the time the final box had been brought into the home, everyone was about ready to collapse. Jeff went to the fridge and pulled out the first grocery item he'd bought for the house in preparation for the move—a twelve pack of premium imported beer.

"You're a God," Troy exclaimed as Jeff passed him the cold, long-necked bottle. Britta rolled her eyes and grabbed a bottle from the box.

"Don't exaggerate, Troy. He's just a guy with beer."

"Yea, beer I _prayed for_."

Jeff plopped back into his newly situated armchair and opened his own beer taking a long pull. He still had a lot of unpacking to do, but was relieved to have all of the boxes inside before sundown.

"Guys," he interrupted their ongoing banter. "I just want to thank you again for all of this. I couldn't have done it without your help."

"It was our pleasure, Jeffrey," Shirley said, sipping a glass of water. Although she had been sceptical when Jeff and Annie originally started dating, and even more so when they moved in together, she'd been positively sweet ever since they announced that they were ready to stop living in sin...er... announced they were getting married. Not surprisingly, she'd been thrilled to have married friends, and she and André had become much closer to them as a result.

"Yea," said Britta. "Besides, if we left you to do it yourself, you'd probably britta it." Years earlier she'd embraced the term "britta"... thus _ruining_ its appeal for all of her friends. She was smarter than she looked.

"You can stop now, we've all stopped saying it," said Jeff. Britta smirked.

"Just making sure it sticks. Wouldn't want to _britta_ my _britta_ing of _britta."_

A chorus of, "UGH's," and, "You're the worst's," came from the group. Britta just smiled with satisfaction and took a swig of beer.

After everyone had had a sufficient break with beer and a pizza Jeff had ordered, they all got to work on unpacking the boxes. Unsurprisingly, Troy and Abed immediately began re-assembling the entertainment centre, while Shirley tasked herself (and a grumbling Britta) with organizing the kitchen. Jeff had had to stop Pierce from grabbing a box of Annie's delicates and heading for the bedroom, instead rerouting him to the bathroom while Jeff continued on into the bedroom with their personal boxes.

It took another three hours for them to unpack. They were less cheerful by the time they finished.

It was nearly midnight when they all cleared out, leaving Jeff alone in his big, empty, super-organized house for the first time. He sunk into bed, completely wiped after the long, exhausting day, and revelled in the way his sheets still smelled like Annie, even though she'd never laid in them here. The realization that she was still with him, even though she was hundreds of miles away, relaxed him and allowed him to fall in a deep, much needed sleep.

* * *

Jeff got an early start the next morning. He headed for the hardware store where he picked up cans of paint and some brushes and rollers before immediately getting to work on the nursery. The way he saw it, if the house was a cake, the nursery had to be the frosting. If it was a donut, the nursery was the cream-filled centre. Annie would be excited about the rest of the house, but she would be _ecstatic_ about the nursery. It had to be _perfect_.

Jeff smiled when he entered the small room. The walls were white and uninspiring, but the sun shone in through the window, giving the nursery a comfortable glow. He closed his eyes and imagined walking into this room to wake up his daughter, or sitting in the rocking chair that he would place in the corner and reading her to sleep. He imagined telling her stories about her mom, and listening to her giggle when he said something funny. This room meant a lot to him—to them.

So, again, it _had to be perfect._

He covered over the hardwood floors with painter's plastic before getting to work. He found the task to be relatively simple, and wound up finishing much sooner than expected; the painting was completely finished by noon, and he was pleased to find that the walls were dry by two. He couldn't wait to move in all of the furniture that he had ordered to be delivered the next morning.

Finding himself with more time on his hands than he expected, he decided to pull out his phone and check in on Annie. He hoped she was having a good time. He knew she hadn't been particularly excited about going on this trip without him. She answered after the second ring.

"_Thank GOD," _she mumbled into the phone. Jeff's brow furrowed.

"What's wrong?"

"_Aunt Helga is insane! She's insisting our daughter is a boy because of the way my stomach looks, and she won't let me take a bath because she says it can transfer bacteria to the baby. She also won't let me sit facing doors. She never explained that one."_ Jeff couldn't help but chuckle.

"I thought you knew what you were getting into with Aunt Helga."

"_Yes, well, apparently senility ruins otherwise normal people. She has eight cats."_

"Are you going to be able to stick out the last day and a half?" He crossed his fingers, praying she wouldn't ask him to get her a flight home before the nursery was done. When he heard her sigh on the phone, he too let out a breath he didn't know he was holding.

"_No, it's fine," _she sulked. _"Just distract me. What did you do all day yesterday?"_

"Uhh, I went to the office?" He kicked himself for letting that come out as a question.

"_Why didn't you call last night?"_

"I'm sorry, babe. I worked so late that I basically passed out when I got home." It wasn't a _total_ lie.

"_They're keeping you pretty busy at work. Are you sure they'll give you time off when the baby comes?"_

"Yea, for sure. They all know what's going on. That's why they've been giving me so much work to do in advance."

"_I just wish you had more time off now." _A beat passed. "_I know it's only been a day, but would it be lame if I said I miss you?" _He smiled, feeling full of affection for the woman on the line.

"That is lame," he teased. He could picture her rolling her eyes. "But I miss you too. It doesn't feel like home without you." He heard some unintelligible yelling in the background. "What was that?"

"_Aunt Helga is stuck on her motorized scooter again. I have to go."_

"Be careful. You're seven months pregnant, you know."

"_Really? Is that what this is? I thought I just had a big lunch."_

"Ha, ha. I'm serious, though. Take good care of my girls."

"_Aww! You're girls?_" Jeff smirked.

"Yea. I mean, I like left boob a little better than right boob. But don't tell right boob that; she gets jealous." He laughed when he heard her scoff.

"_Goodbye Jeffrey," _she snipped.

"Babe?"

"_Yea?"_

"Take care, okay? I love you." He mentally patted himself on the back for winning back a few points.

"_I will. See you in exactly 44 hours and 32 minutes. I love you."_

Jeff looked around at the newly painted room after hanging up. If she loved him after the boob crack, she was going to freaking worship him when she saw this place.

* * *

The following day was a flurry of activity as the furniture was delivered for the nursery—disassembled. Jeff ended up calling Abed and Troy over to help him put together not just the crib, but the dresser, the bookshelves, and, for some reason he couldn't figure out, the rocking chair. He grumbled to himself that if he'd wanted to be a carpenter he wouldn't have put so much effort into pretending to be a lawyer.

It took several hours, a few hammered thumbs, and a lot of cursing, but eventually the guys did manage to get the room put together. Abed and Troy even helped Jeff fill it up with all of the other baby things he'd acquired a few weeks earlier: blankets, wall hangings, stuffed animals, tiny little clothes, an array of colourful picture books, a fluffy floor mat and a Noah's Ark themed mobile that hung over the crib. Once the place was finished, all three guys sat on the floor, admiring their handiwork.

"You guys... I never cry, but..." whatever Troy was about to say was cut off by a sob. Jeff couldn't even find it within himself to pick on the younger man, finding himself similarly moved by the now complete room. All of the time he'd spent imagining what this room would look like, he never expected this.

The pale yellow walls were offset by white doors and trim, and a blonde hardwood floor. Decals depicting cartoon animals adorned the walls, in addition to hanging photos of him and Annie on their wedding day. Sitting on the dresser next to the bed was a small framed version of their first family photo: Jeff and Annie looking intently at the ultrasound of little Baby Winger.

The crib was filled with pale pink sheets and a white teddy bear that once belonged to Jeff (Annie had found it in his storage closet years earlier and teased him mercilessly about keeping it, but he knew better; she had been pretty insatiable in bed that night).

To finish off the whole ensemble was a tiny pacifier on top of the dresser, just waiting for its new owner to come into the world.

He felt his eyes well up, but refused to let the tears fall. He still had some manly pride left.

But it was fading away more and more as he imagined the life his baby girl would have in this room.

He wanted Annie to come home now.

* * *

The next morning, Jeff waited impatiently at the airport. Annie's plane had landed moments earlier, and he was just beginning to see the first few passengers making their way out of the gate. His heart jumped a little when he finally saw her appear through the glass doors. He wanted to scold himself for being such a softy, but he couldn't help it. This was _big_. He couldn't wait to show Annie their new home.

"Finally!" she exclaimed as she reached him, throwing her arms around him as best she could. She looked tired and worn out after three absolutely awful days with Aunt Helga. Jeff leaned down and placed a sweet kiss on her lips.

"How was your flight?" he asked as he grabbed her hand and led her to baggage claim.

"It wasn't bad. I've come to love those little air blowers that you can point directly at your face. Aunt Helga doesn't have air conditioning. How can you live in Arizona without air conditioning?" Jeff just stayed silent and let her rant for a while about her miserable trip, too afraid to say anything for fear of giving away his secret, or at the very least the fact that he had one.

Once he had grabbed her bags and loaded them into the car, they were finally on their way _home_. Jeff felt a whole army of butterflies rise up in his stomach as he passed their usual exit wordlessly. Annie, however, was far too perceptive for that.

"Wait, what are you doing? You missed our exit."

"I actually wanted to show you something before we go home."

"Show me what?"

"There's an open house in Greendale Heights—I thought we could check it out," he suggested. He watched her reaction out of the corner of his eye, pleased when her mouth curled into a smile.

"I didn't know you were even really thinking about getting a house."

"Well, I wasn't," he lied. "But I saw this one listed and thought you'd like to see it." She gave a little bounce in her seat.

"I'd LOVE to!" she exclaimed, suddenly feeling very excited about the prospect of house hunting with her husband. She hadn't wanted to nag him about getting a house, so the fact that he brought it up filled her with immense joy.

Jeff took the next exit and drove through the winding suburban streets before finally pulling up to the home. He watched Annie's reaction upon first laying eyes on the small bungalow.

"Oh my god, Jeff. It's beautiful!" she exclaimed, bursting out of the passenger's seat. She took in all of the little details of the home: the white picket fence, the yellow siding, the red door and white shutters. It had a yard with a garden and everything. There was even a bird bath off to the side. Annie couldn't control her smile.

"You like it?" he asked, silently patting himself on the back. If she was this excited about the curb appeal, just wait until she got inside.

"It's absolutely perfect. It's exactly what I've always wanted my home to look like." Jeff could see tears brimming in her eyes, and for once he didn't feel an ounce guilty about them.

"Do you want to see the inside?" he asked. She nodded excitedly and let him lead her to the door.

"It's not locked?" she asked. He laughed lightly.

"It's an _open house_, Annie. They wouldn't have much luck with that if they locked it." She sort of "duh'ed" herself before following him in. In truth, he'd nervously left it unlocked when he left to fulfill the surprise, opting for authenticity over practicality.

"Oh, it's so nice!" Annie cried as she entered the foyer, looking around at the bright, open space. "I love the way they've designed it... this table almost looks like the one I bought for our place," she said, dropping her hand onto a small table that held a vase of flowers. Jeff bit his tongue, wanting her to figure it out on her own.

He led her further into the house, and when they walked into the living room, he saw a sudden realization come over her.

"Jeff..."

"What?" he fought to keep the grin off his face.

"This is our stuff," she said, plainly. She looked around the room a moment longer before turning to him, eyes wide. "Why is all of our stuff here?" Jeff shrugged nonchalantly. She grabbed his hand excitedly. "Did you buy this house?" He shrugged again. He knew the jig was up, but he just liked to mess with her. She smacked him playfully on the chest before she started bouncing around.

"Careful, you bounce like that, that baby will fall right out," he teased, unable to keep the smile off his face any longer.

"YOU BOUGHT US A HOUSE!" she cried, still in disbelief, still uncontrollably excited. Jeff just stood back and let her bask in it, until he was almost bowled over as she leapt into his arms in a way that could only be described as a _glomp_.

"You like it?" he whispered in her ear, holding her tight. She squeezed him a little tighter.

"I love it. So much." She pulled away and looked up at him. "But how did you do all of this? I was only gone for three days."

"I had some help. Let's just say Pierce might have some intimate knowledge about your collection of lingerie." Annie made a face.

"Oh, eww!" she exclaimed. "But I don't even care—because we're here, and this is ours, and you win the best husband of the year award."

"Ashton Kutcher will be so disappointed." He grabbed her hand. "C'mon, let me show you around."

Jeff pulled Annie from room to room, deftly avoiding the nursery, the door to which he had purposely closed that morning so she couldn't sneak a peek. With every new room discovered, Annie's excitement built and built, and Jeff felt more and more pride for a job well done.

The grand tour of the house almost got derailed when they reached the master bedroom and Annie insisted on christening it (Jewish faith notwithstanding), but Jeff assured her they would get to that later... and not just in the bedroom. They had work to do in the bedroom, the kitchen, the living room, the bathroom... the only room he didn't mention was the nursery—because A) Gross, and B) that was the next stop.

"Alright, I need you to close your eyes," he instructed her as they reached the closed door, just one door down from the master bedroom. Annie gave him a slightly sceptical look. "What? It's not a sex gym... though I'm kind of wishing I'd thought of that before. Just close your eyes." She shook her head at his joke, but complied, closing her eyes tightly. Just to make sure, Jeff put his hand over her eyes before turning the knob and pushing the door open, guiding Annie into the room lit up by the late morning sun.

"Ready?" he asked.

"Ready!" she exclaimed. Jeff waited just a second longer before pulling his hand away. He watched her closely as her eyes opened and she took in the scene before her.

"Jeff..." she said a little breathlessly. She walked a little further into the room, tracing the furniture with her hand, as if gaining a sense memory of every single object that now belonged to their baby. Jeff just sat back silently and let her take in the room. She was uncharacteristically quiet as she looked around, which made nerves bubble up once again in Jeff's gut.

"What do you think?" he asked after several moments. She turned to face him, and he saw that she had tears in her eyes, and a small but permanent smile affixed to her lips.

"Jeff... it's just," she wiped away one stray tear. "It's perfect. It's _so_ perfect." He let out a breath he hadn't realized he was holding. She looked at him with absolute affection, making his heart melt a little. "_Thank you_, Jeff. For everything." He smiled and crossed the room, enveloping her in his embrace.

"This is amazing," she mumbled against his chest. He tightened his hold on her and kissed the top of her head.

"_You're_ amazing. And you deserve this." She pulled away just enough to look up at him, and wasted no time pulling him down for a long, lingering kiss.

"I love you so much," she whispered once they'd separated. She pulled away a little, taking him by the hand and leading him to the door.

"Where are we going?" he asked. She turned to peek at him over her should and offered a seductive smile.

"I think it's definitely time to christen the master bedroom."

**End**

* * *

_This is dedicated to the lovely classicfreak! who requested a fluffy baby fic for the Milady/Milord Valentines fic exchange. __And thanks SO much to the awesome shopgirl909 for editing the crap out of this thing._

_Happy Valentine's Day :)_


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